1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to self loading firearms and, more particularly, to a multi-block gas regulator for use with self-loading firearms
2. Description of the Related Art
Adjustable gas regulators have been utilized on self loading firearms since the 1940's. Some early examples are the Soviet SVD and Belgium FAL, while the Adams Arms, Sig Sauer 516 and the Ruger SR-556 are some recent designs.
Early on gas regulators were developed to enable discharge gas pressure to be adjusted on a host firearm. The use of gas regulators was necessitated by ammunition that produced inconsistent pressures that led to excessive wear and or malfunctions of a firearm's operating system.
More recently with the increased use of silencers, the role of gas regulators took on a new priority in the form of managing back pressure. Back pressure is created by a silencer forcing more discharge gas into the rifles operating system. The increase in the volume of discharge gas passing through the operating system of a firearm resulted in increased fouling, felt recoil, accelerated wear of the firearms components and a plethora of operational related malfunctions.
With the early designs like the Belgian FAL, the discharge gas was regulated by allowing excess gas to be exhausted into the atmosphere. However, such regulation was not practical with firearms utilizing a silencer because when the discharge gas entered the oxygen rich atmosphere, the gases flashed and produced a report that nullified the silencing effect of the silencer. Furthermore, the regulator did not provide preset gas settings. Other disadvantages of such systems included requiring a tool to adjust the gas settings and the inability to rapidly adjust the gas flow while the weapon is fielded.
Modern designs like Adams Arms have made some improvements over earlier designs in the following ways: 1) restricting the amount of discharge gas allowed to escape into the atmosphere. 2) equipping their regulators with preset gas adjustments; and 3) providing a means to change gas settings in the field without requiring the use of tools.
The problems with existing systems are numerous. Adams Arms is the only current retro fit piston system that is capable of regulating gas flow to the firearms operating system. However the Adams Arms system is not equipped to precisely regulate gas as would be appropriate to optimize a firearm's performance. Furthermore, the Adams Arms gas regulation system is limited to three positions, i.e., partial gas, full gas, and off. Because the system uses a single large aperture for full gas and partially occludes the aperture to achieve partial gas, the caliber and type of ammunition compatibility are unduly restricted. The Adams Arms single aperture design lacks efficiency by excluding a means to precisely meter gas flow. The gas regulator is not easily manipulated under adverse conditions, especially if gloves are worn. In addition, the gas regulator can be accidentally released while moving between settings and there are no options for a low profile gas regulator that would allow the use of an uninterrupted extended hand guard.
The present disclosure offers many advantages over the prior art. More specifically, the presently disclosed gas regulator provides four positions of adjustment including reduced gas flow, normal gas flow, adverse gas flow, and extra high or no gas flow settings. Each position of adjustment has a precisely sized gas port to optimize performance with or without a silencer and provide the widest range of caliber and ammunition type compatibility. A spring loaded adjustment knob positively locks the regulator in position while its method of actuation and size facilitate rapid manipulation under adverse conditions and while wearing gloves. The gas regulator works by restricting the flow of gas from the host weapons barrel and not by venting excess gas into the atmosphere. The present disclosure offers an alternative low profile gas regulator that may be concealed under the hand guard providing for an uninterrupted extended hand guard for mounting accessories, In addition, the gas regulator cannot be accidentally released while in use yet it can be easily retro fitted to existing gas operated firearms. Moreover, the gas regulator may be quickly and easily disassembled for routine maintenance, and can be configured for use with both indirect gas impingement, e.g. piston op-rod, or direct gas impingement, e.g. original AR type, operating systems.